Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts Jim and Dan Miller will both compete at UFC 124 on December 11th. The New Jersey-based brothers will face Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira and Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen, respectively, as part of the event as the UFC returns to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Québec, Canada.

Jim has won five straight fights inside the Octagon and finds himself on the brink of lightweight title contention, while middleweight brother Dan picked up a much-needed victory over John Salter at UFC 118. The win stopped a three-fight losing skid that had put Dan’s UFC status in jeopardy.

Jim Miller (18-2-0) began his career with 11 wins in 12 bouts, losing only to reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar during that time. He has since enjoyed considerable success in the UFC, with his lone defeat coming against upcoming title challenger Gray “The Bully” Maynard in a March 2009 bout. Miller has never been finished in his career and has stopped 12 of his opponents to date. Known primarily for his impressive ground game, Miller has demonstrated that he can hold his own on the feet as well and has displayed crisp boxing in recent bouts. His performance against Duane “Bang” Ludwig, a noted striker, was particularly impressive. He will face another dynamic striker when he battles Oliveira at UFC 124.

Oliveira (14-0-0) remains unbeaten in his mixed martial arts career and has only gone to a decision one time in his 14 bouts to date. The jiu-jitsu specialist has used quick and, at times, unorthodox striking to wear down recent opponents and he sent TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero packing from the UFC with a third-round rear-naked choke submission at UFC Fight Night 22. The win established Oliveira as one of the top prospects in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division, but he will face a very tough test in Miller. The matchup is an interesting clash of striking styles, as both Miller and Oliveira are highly skilled on the ground while Oliveira prefers kicks and power punches to Miller’s crisp boxing. The winner could find himself in line for a future title shot.

Dan Miller (12-4-0, 1 NC), like his brother, has never been finished in his career and holds eight wins by way of submission. However, losses and family issues have plagued the elder Miller’s career in recent months and he found himself in the midst of a three-fight losing streak after dropping decisions to Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia and Michael Bisping. On the verge of being cut from the promotion, Miller rallied and submitted John Salter with a modified guillotine choke at UFC 118 to get his career back on track. He will need to keep up the momentum when he takes on the veteran Doerksen in Doerksen’s home country of Canada.

Doerksen (46-13-0), an MMA veteran who has been competing since early 1999, has faced and beaten many of the sport’s top fighters during his lengthy career. With an incredible 33 submission victories, Doerksen has only gone to a decision nine times and is a proven finisher. However, he has struggled in the UFC and has managed a meagre 2-6 record inside the Octagon. While age may be starting to take its toll on the Manitoba native, Doerksen put together a seven-fight winning streak before losing his most recent fight against CB “The Doberman” Dollaway at UFC 119 and he remains a tough test for anyone in the division.

UFC 124 takes place on December 11th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. Also reported today was a lightweight bout between Pat “Awesomely Awesome” Audinwood and unbeaten Canadian John “The Bull” Makdessi.

UFC 124 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Georges “Rush” St. Pierre vs Josh Koscheck (UFC Welterweight Championship)
– Thiago “Pitbull” Alves vs John “Doomsday” Howard [*]
– Jim Miller vs Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira
– Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
– Mac Danzig vs Joe “Daddy” Stevenson [*]

– Mark Bocek vs Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett
– Dan Miller vs Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen
– Matt Riddle vs Anthony “TJ” Waldburger
– Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald vs Rafael “Sapo” Natal [*]
– Ricardo “Big Dog” Almeida vs TJ Grant [*]
– Pat “Awesomely Awesome” Audinwood vs John “The Bull” Makdessi [*]

*Not yet officially announced

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)